The Melancholy Journey of Mr. Teal

"The Melancholy Journey of Mr. Teal" is the last of three loosely interconnected novellas written by Leslie Charteris and included in the eighth Saint book The Holy Terror published in 1932. It had previously been published in the magazine Thriller as "The Kidnapped Killer".

Plot
Six months after the "The Million Pound Day", Simon Templar finds himself a few hundred pounds short of having 100,000 pounds in his bank account — enough to (for a while) retire. He sets his eyes on relieving two murderous diamond smugglers of their ill-gotten loot. When his scheme goes awry, however, Templar's long-simmering feud with Inspector Teal (which dates back to Enter the Saint) finally comes to a boil, and Templar finds himself not only on the run from Teal, but in order to ensure that he gets the diamonds, he is forced to also help one of the smugglers escape. (The title of the book, The Holy Terror comes from a description Templar gives of himself in this story.) This story leads directly into the next Saint book, Getaway.

Film adaptation
The plot point in "The Melancholy Journey of Mr. Teal" in which Templar strives to top up his bank account and retire was adapted for the 1997 film version of The Saint.